PAYNESVILLE -- Paynesville Area Public Schools will allow students to surf the Web next year through a district-wide wireless Internet network.
The district introduced a wireless Internet connection this year in all of its buildings for use by staff. Shortly after the installation, Superintendent Todd Burlingame said, students were calling for permission to use it.
"This year is where it became students asking teachers 'can I bring my laptop in?'" Burlingame said in a Wednesday phone interview. "And it was like, hmm."
About 10 students sought permission to use their laptops, Burlingame said.
The new policy requires students to install district-endorsed virus software and other programs to protect the district's Internet network, Burlingame said.
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However, the policy has a catch. Students must have a minimum 2.6 GPA. They must also receive permission to use their laptops from the principal and school staff, Burlingame said.
"We don't just want anybody there, but basically good kids who follow all the rules," Burlingame said. " ... I can only imagine that that number will grow."
Burlingame said the district will install a more powerful wireless network this summer to allow for greater bandwidth and faster browsing speeds. He said he hopes to get 5 to 10 years out of the upgrade.
Burlingame said the few students who have brought laptops to school have used their study hall class periods to browse the Web on their computers. He said he just hopes students continue to use their laptops at school for enhancing their education, not for other personal uses."Hopefully they're doing school work and not playing solitaire," Burlingame said.
